TheGMSource - For those that follow me know that I've been in this "business" for quite sometime. I started at GMInsideNews.com before I left and worked with Walter Keegan Jr. over at CheersandGears.com. That web-site, CheersandGears.com reached hits unimaginable for an independant GM enthusiast web-site. Today - I got wind that the web-site I once ran has been sold.

I left C&G to pursue my own options which ultimately lead to myself working with famed BlueOvalNews.com owner Robert Lane. Rob and I came to terms on an agreement on ownership of TheGMSource two years ago. C&G was once a great web-site full of ideas, insiders and breaking GM news but has not seen the level of hype once achieved when I was at the helm.

Josh never ran the website did he? His duties as a moderator back in the day were shared with other mods from what I understood. It seems like he's taking all the credit for building up C&G, when in reality it was many people that helped grow this website.

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Josh was an admin with Walt, the rest of us were moderators. And yes, the site was at it's peak under his leadership but that wasn't necessarily JUST because of him. Hell, I recruited a TON of people here that eventually became mods and admins (Josh included -- I remember when he, I and Camino were all lowly posters over at SSRRS.com) I found this site via camaroz28.com (Walt was active there) and I promoted the hell out of it because I thought it was the coolest place on the net. (Those of you who are my friends on Facebook know how I like to use viral marketing)

FWIW, I was a mod at GMInsidenews as well when Josh was helping out at that site. Then the GMI and C&G war started and my allegiances were here, so I quietly got the boot at GMI.

Anyway... I'm not trying to get recognition, my point is that there were A LOT of very dedicated people that made this site what it was. Walt lost interest in the site and that started the slide. Then Brian came along and finished the slide into oblivion (including his "disappearance")

As far as what rkmdogs said... I would tend to agree. Not that the site is overtly leftist (even though it is leftist, it isn't annoyingly so) But, the fact remains that unless you share the viewpoint of a select few here, you're pretty much ridiculed and unwelcome. That's why so many people who were so loyal (including myself -- I came back because I was asked) spend most of their time somewhere else. And it's not that the 'select few' are really worth reading, it's just that they're the ones that care enough to run everyone off.

I'm not trying to piss anyone off and you guys are my online family. But it is what it is.

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Josh never ran the website did he? His duties as a moderator back in the day were shared with other mods from what I understood. It seems like he's taking all the credit for building up C&G, when in reality it was many people that helped grow this website.

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It seems that Mr. Oliver is still quite the bitter apple about C&G. He has no room to criticize this site. GMS hasn't taken off like he said it would, now has it?

As for returning this site to the level of quality seen in past years, it all comes down to one thing: good, focused management. I have hope that Oldsmoboi can deliver on that.

I think it's quite sad that GMI has surpassed us. While I find GMI's layout horribly organized and the member base so massive it's easy to just blend in with the crowd if you aren't a regular, they do have an upper hand on us in that they have far more insiders posting than we do. Whatever insider tips we get are either delivered through PCS (whose credibility is questioned by quite a few people and has a bad tendency to piss off other members here) or hyperv6 (who doesn't post as frequently as he used to) and that's about it. AH-HA waved goodbye to us long ago, evok left after the "V8 will be dead" incident ... the list runs on.

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As for returning this site to the level of quality seen in past years, it all comes down to one thing: good, focused management. I have hope that Oldsmoboi can deliver on that.

Let me clarify on this just a bit: when I say "quality," I mean the level of obtained exclusive content and insider news, keeping the front page fresh (something that has improved recently) with up-to-date news and making it stay that way, granting exclusive privileges, features, and content to all levels of membership, leaving enough reason for guests to keep lurking and join up, and so on. That's all the responsibility of everyone who is responsible for operating the site.

One thing I noticed over the last year (especially after Fly disappeared) is that C&G seemed to be late breaking when it came to news vs. GMI and even BON sometimes, and traditions like posting sales figures as soon as they were released kind of faded away for a time. I'm not criticizing because I know we all have lives, running a website is a large undertaking, and a lot of the news over the last year was downright depressing, but I'm hoping that with GM emerging from bankruptcy and the talk of new products will bring some of that activity back that we used to have.

As far as GMI, I'm glad C&G isn't as big as GMI. I remember when GMI was much smaller and more of a tight-knit community, but it has grown to the point where a lot of the posts seem to be about quantity instead of quality. I haven't browsed there much lately, but when I did a while back I felt like the level of discussion was a quite few notches below what we have here at C&G.

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Josh hasn't mattered since the day the consensus here said to shelve him.

And for the record, C&G's decline has more to do with fanbois and lunatics driving away people who had real info, not some dude who made &#036;h&#33; up about GM's future plans.

You'd love GMI then. When you visit there, you are offered the traditional GM Kool-Aid in two sizes, 32 oz. or large (the large requires a trailer in order to carry it), and in two styles, sugar-free and "jacked-the-f@#k-up."

For the most part, GMI'ers can't stand any criticism of GM. They always find some sorry excuse to use in GM's defense. That's something we can do: criticize and take the criticism.

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Some on C&G can handle criticism of GM, others cant. Some can accept that GM is going through changes after years of self inflicted wounds, others take their ball and go home. There is a fine line between passionate and bat-&#036;h&#33; crazy, and that line gets crossed by a few on a regular basis around here, thats why we dont have the knowledgeable people we used to get, the small band of people with inside info have up and left because of the immaturity and douchebaggery displayed by a few posters.

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Let us have a brainstorm on how to improve this website. Things were not same since Fly left (November 2007 to be exact), whole GM was in flux, elections did not help either. But now it is time to introspect and chime in. There is no other way than all the members especially the senior contributing members like you providing the vital input. Members made this site and members brought it down and it is time for members to bring it up again.

Under Olds, we are committed to make this website better and in some ways regain its aura of fun and informative place it was a few months ago and achieve greater heights.

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From what I've seen as far as members leaving and then coming back. Most of the state that they either left for personal reasons, or from the negativity surrounding both GM and the fights and hostility that would go on between some members.

If you just join a site and see someone ripping apart other people for seemingly harmless things, would that make you want to stay? I think most of the fighting has calmed down, which is a good step.

Another key step is to get exclusive news more often. Thanks to Ted's sharp eye, we did manage to get some. We just need more of this sort of breaking news. How we get it, is a good question.

FWIW evok does still come and post from time to time.

As far as C&G goes, I what has always drawn me to this site is both the community and that interesting discussions go on. It's not all one-sided discussions and arguements, which is rare for any automotive fan site.

We have a long road ahead of us to bring the site up, but I think we've also made a lot of good first steps, and we have a dedicated leader. It just takes time, just like it will take time for GM to recover.

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Usually, as soon as news is released by the major auto news sites besides Inside Lines, "Newfeeder" posts it into a news pool, and the Admins, Mods, and Editor/Reporters will place it into the approprate section of the forum. Also, staff and members tend to post news from C&D, MT, IL, and many other auto related news sources.

I think car enthusiasts browsing the internet are googling the latest automotive news. That is a way for us to get some new people lured in off the street so they can get to know us. Ted's Chevrolet Orlando scoop is an example, we need to post GM news as soon as it happens so we can be linked from the 'net. A tall order, I realize, unless someone can treat this site as their primary job.

I have to say, although Croc was increasingly bellicose before he left... I do agree with some of the points he was trying to make. I do miss Brian Dreggors' guidance around here, but looking to the past is not going to help us now. His "disappearance" is still a mystery to me. Keeping a level head when moderating is of vital importance, I will say, and that has not been the case consistently in recent times.

I felt censored during the elections, and even personally attacked. I feel that a cardinal rule of effective, enjoyable, even tolerable internet forum administration was broken when politics spread throughout C&G during that time. That is also in the past, thankfully, with the Politics and Social Issues section created for those discussions. I have not asked for entry into that forum once, which is good for my blood pressure, doubtless.

I've largely migrated to The Lounge lately because I am not as optimistic about GM as I used to be. So much of The Promise is gone, it is harder to look forward to the future of the company these days. The 2-year product plan is just not exciting. I hope I am proven wrong. It has become rarer for me to feel passionate enough about a GM news item to join in on the discussions. I hope this changes, as well.

As always, this is my home on the internet, and I will continue to tirelessly come here in the early a.m. and in the evenings when I am home. As for GM news, I don't look here first, I look to Autoblog, but as for discussions on a topic once it IS posted here, that is when I like to get involved. I rarely post on Autoblog, and the Autoweek and Motor Trend forums bore me. This place still has potential and the familiarity and community here is second to none for me. I can only hope that good decisions can be made by the team in charge on a consistent basis to grow the site and keep it relevant to people outside our core, active membership. We need some new, quality members who will ignite the kinds of discussions that will lure us old-timers back into the fray.